HOLD FOR RELEASE  UNTIL 9:30 p.m. Friday May 9, 2008
Contact: West Virginia Press Association   (304) 342-1011


WVPA Advertising Contest General Excellence Winners Announced in Charleston 

	CHARLESTON, May 9 - Four newspapers were the top winners in the 2008 West Virginia Press Association Advertising Awards Contest.  Results of the annual competition were announced Friday evening at a banquet held at the Marriott in Charleston to honor excellence in newspaper advertising sales and design.

	Newspapers across the state compete in four circulation groups, two each for daily and weekly newspapers.   The contest has 19 categories, ranging from Best Small Ad Campaign to Best Process Color Ad and Best Progress Edition.  The overall awards for General Excellence are based on awards won in the basic categories.  Winners of the General Excellence awards were:

	Division 1 (Dailies over 20,000 circulation): First place, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, second place, The Register-Herald, Beckley; and third place, The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington.

	Division 2 (Dailies 20,000 and under): First place, Times West Virginian; second place, The Inter-Mountain, Elkins; and third place, The Daily Atheneaum, Morgantown.

	Division 3 (Weeklies 4,000 and over): First place, Jackson County Newspapers, \second place, The Weston Democrat, third place, Hampshire Review.

	Division 4 (Weeklies under 4,000): First place, The St. Marys Oracle, second place, Lincoln Standard, Hamlin; and third place, The Fayette Tribune, Oak Hill.

(Complete List of winners can be found on the WVPA website - wvpress.org.)
###